First Swimming Lesson

"Hold it in, don't laugh."

The expression on Natsukawa's face right now was exactly like the one Faker had after that match against LNG at S13. The corners of his mouth were harder to suppress than an AK-47.

This was a massive score, a truly fat payout.

One million... one million! His first pot of gold was finally in his hands!

He clenched his fist tightly, feeling his heart beating powerfully with excitement. Although he didn't show it on the surface, carrying a debt of twenty million had always been a source of pressure. Now, a tear had finally appeared in that dark cloud.

Steady, this is only the beginning. He took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down, but the glimmer in his eyes betrayed the turbulence in his heart. This money wasn't just points; it was the first lever he would use to pry open his future in this meritocratic school.

After composing himself, Natsukawa left the conference room and headed toward the classroom. He hadn't gone far when he ran into the person who sat behind him at a corner: Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

"Yo, Ayanokoji." Natsukawa greeted him in a great mood.

Ayanokoji nodded and followed his pace with an expressionless face, though he began to grumble internally: Natsukawa's expression... did something good happen? Did he find money? No, the probability of finding money in this school is lower than getting hit by a meteor.

The two walked side by side, chatting idly.

"It's swimming class this afternoon, right?" Natsukawa mentioned casually.

"Yeah."

"Can you swim?"

"A little." Ayanokoji replied, thinking to himself: The curriculum of the White Room includes all survival skills; swimming is basic. However, I need to keep my performance at an average level for this afternoon's class.

When the two returned to the classroom, there was still some time before the start of the lesson. Ike Kanji, Yamauchi Haruki, and Sudo Ken were gathered together, discussing the afternoon's swimming class in loud voices, their faces glowing with excitement.

"Hey, hey, it's swimming class this afternoon!"

"Great! Finally, we can show off our skills!"

"The point is the girls' swimsuits, the swimsuits! Hehehe..."

"Doctor, you'll record it properly, right?"

"..."

Just as they let out some lecherous laughter, the light at the classroom door dimmed, and Horikita Suzune walked in. She still wore that cold-as-ice expression, her long black hair hanging meticulously behind her, as if she carried an aura that kept strangers at bay. She walked toward her seat without looking sideways, but as she passed the group of boys including Ike, she furrowed her delicate brows imperceptibly.

She happened to walk near Natsukawa and Ayanokoji, her cold voice carrying a hint of imperceptible sarcasm: "How noisy. Watching them be so... energetic, I increasingly doubt whether this school is truly as 'benevolent' as it appears on the surface."

Natsukawa smiled, implying something: "Perhaps it's a screening, Horikita-san. Screening out those who lack 'ability'."

Horikita glanced at Natsukawa, a flicker of contemplation crossing her violet-red eyes. "Is that so, Natsukawa-kun? How much more do you know about this school?"

"Not at all, Horikita-san. We're all in the same class; I don't know any more than you do..."

At this moment, the boys' discussion grew even louder, the topic having shifted undisguisedly to the classic adolescent debate of "which girl in the class has the biggest chest," even leading to a bet.

A look of boredom flashed across Horikita's face. She glanced at the group of boys, her disdain undisguised. "Utterly boring." She dropped this remark and walked straight to her seat, picking up a book to read, completely shutting out the clamor of the outside world.

Not long after, Ike Kanji and the others left the classroom early, heading straight for the locker room, their eagerness plain to see.

"Let's go too," Natsukawa said to Ayanokoji.

The two walked unhurriedly to the locker room and changed into their swim trunks. Natsukawa looked at Ayanokoji's physique—seemingly lean but actually possessing fluid muscle definition—and thought: Is this the result of the White Room? You really can't judge a book by its cover.

Arriving at the poolside, a massive indoor pool came into view, the water clear enough to see the bottom. Ike Kanji was already splashing around in the water, shouting loudly: "Holy crap! This pool is even better than the commercial ones!"

After many of the boys entered the water, their gazes couldn't help but drift toward the girls' locker room, anticipating the "scenery" to come. However, when the girls started coming out one after another, many of them showed expressions of disappointment.

This was because many of the girls, especially those with the most impressive figures, such as Hasebe Haruka and Sakura Airi, were wearing their full school uniforms and sitting on the bleachers by the pool—they were all observing.

"Ah... why is everyone observing..." Yamauchi Haruki lamented.

Natsukawa's gaze swept across the bleachers and quickly found that familiar figure. Sakura Airi was indeed sitting there, her thick glasses still on, and even her school uniform couldn't completely hide her figure. She seemed a bit uneasy, her hands resting on her knees, her gaze lowered.

As if by telepathy, just as Natsukawa looked at her, Sakura happened to look up. Their eyes met in mid-air. Sakura trembled slightly, like a startled deer. Natsukawa gave her a gentle smile and waved his hand lightly.

Sakura's cheeks flushed a visible shade of red. She instinctively wanted to raise her hand to respond, but as soon as her arm lifted slightly, she seemed to realize they were in public, and her movement froze instantly. In the end, she only gave a very slight, quick nod before shyly lowering her head, her fingers twisting together nervously, though the slightly reddened tips of her ears betrayed the ripples in her heart.

At this moment, the PE teacher blew the assembly whistle. Seeming to notice that there were indeed many girls observing, he announced to boost the students' motivation: "For today's swimming test, the fastest boy and girl will be rewarded with an extra 5,000 private points! However, those who fail will have to stay after school for extra practice!"

"5,000 points!" A stir went through the crowd.

Natsukawa calculated in his heart: Don't even think about the reward; with my mediocre level, I just hope I don't end up with extra practice.

After warm-up exercises, the training began. As someone from the south in his past life, Natsukawa knew how to swim, but only at a "won't drown" level; his form was ugly and his speed was slow. He looked at Sudo, who was moving like he had a motor installed, and then at Ayanokoji, who was slacking off with his dead-fish eyes even while swimming, and decisively chose to ask for help.

"Ayanokoji, do me a favor. Help me look at my form; it feels a bit off."

Ayanokoji looked at him silently for two seconds and nodded: "Hands, raise them a bit higher. Legs, smaller range of motion."

Under Ayanokoji's concise yet precise guidance, Natsukawa managed to improve his form slightly. When the test came, he gave it his all and finally scraped by just above the passing line, avoiding the doom of extra practice. Ayanokoji also finished in 10th place—how thrilling (deadpan), he almost got called in for extra practice.

"Thanks, Ayanokoji, I owe you one," Natsukawa said, panting.

"Don't mention it, friends should help each other, isn't that what you said?" Ayanokoji replied calmly.

After the test ended, Natsukawa and Ayanokoji went ashore to rest, sitting on the open space beside the pool. At this moment, a vibrant figure walked toward them while waving a greeting.